Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. In 1983 Pres. Reagan declared the third Monday in January a federal holiday honoring the prominent and influential civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968. Read more here:

Some On The Right Seem Not Too Keen On It Either: Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and conservative commentator Anne Coulter.

Current Events

However some Republicans are open to this proposal as the start of more negotiations. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to bring Pres. Trump’s proposal to the Senate floor for a vote on Tuesday, which will be day 32 of the partial government shutdown.

Ellen DeGeneres summing up her reaction after watching the L.A. Rams capture an overtime victory from the New Orleans Saints for the NFC Championship. Later, the New England Patriots beat the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime during the AFC Championship Game. It was the first time in NFL history, two Conference championship games went into overtime. The Super Bowl between the Rams & the Patriots is Feb. 3.

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“We think it’s great.”

Nicholas Nicolet, who enjoyed the wintry weather cross-country skiing with his 6-year-old son in Vermont. However, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service called the weather "life-threatening" as temperatures dip below freezing in the Midwest & Northeast causing flight cancellations & power outages. Wind chill is expected to bring some temperature readings to 40 degrees BELOW Fahrenheit.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) announcing her run for President in 2020. In 2011, Harris became California's first female and first African American Attorney General, a position she held for two terms. The freshman senator joined Congress in 2017, becoming California's third female senator.

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“We currently assess this airstrike killed fifty-two (52) militants.”

U.S. Africa Command announcing a strike against al-Shabaab - a branch of al-Qaeda in Somalia. The strikes comes days after al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack in a luxury hotel in neighboring Kenya that killed more than 20 people, including one American.

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“In my 30 years with the Border Patrol, I have not been part of arresting a group of 376 people.”

Chief Anthony Porvaznik, Customs & Border Patrol Yuma Border Sector, speaking about the single largest group of family & children taken into custody in the area. With the help of smugglers, the group dug under the steel barrier in Yuma, Arizona; 176 of the 376 were children (30 unaccompanied minors).

“… it’s fairly rare to have all these things kind of come together at the same time.”

Patrick Hartigan, Rice University astrophysicist, on this weekend's Super "Blood Moon." The Earth will block the sun's light from the moon (lunar eclipse), which will be very close to Earth (supermoon) & reflecting shadows creating a reddish tint (blood moon). It will start Sunday at 11:41pm ET & last over an hour. A total lunar eclipse won't happen again until May 2021.

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“… it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me.”

President Trump in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi postponing her use of a military aircraft for an undisclosed trip to Brussels & Afghanistan to visit troops. The move, an hour before departure, came a day after Pelosi's urging to postpone the President's State of the Union speech until after the gov't reopens. Later Thursday, the Trump admin said it will no longer travel to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week.

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“Sometimes I loved him, sometimes I didn’t.”

Lucero Guadalupe Sánchez López, drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's mistress, in testimony against him in federal court. López detailed her 3-year romantic relationship which also included narcotics trafficking for him. She awaits sentencing on a drug conspiracy charge. Guzmán's wife was also in the courtroom. When asked about the testimony she only said, "I don't speak English" (in English).

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“It appeared to be quite serious, there was lots of glass over the road as well as debris.”

Berneen Caney, who saw the aftermath as Prince Phillip (97), the husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, flipped a Land Rover he was driving. He walked away with no serious injuries and two women in the other car have been discharged from the hospital. No one was charged.

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“… she started brushing up against the boat. She was just this big beautiful gentle giant.”

Ocean Ramsey, who studies sharks and offers cage-free shark diving tours off Oahu, after one of the largest great white sharks was spotted off Hawaii. This may be the famous 20 feet long, 8 feet high & 50 year old "Deep Blue" giant shark. Ramsey says it was likely pregnant & hunting for food en route to California's warmer waters.

June: Federal court ordered gov’t to end to policy & reunify all children separated (then at 2,654) of families who met certain criteria.

Current Events

Latest From New Report:

Widespread practice of separating dates back to at least Summer 2017. Before then, separations were used sparingly.

The total number of children separated is unknown.

In December, HHS identified a total of 2,737 separated children of families who met the reunification criteria, 77% (2,131) of whom were reunified with family.

Current Events

What About The Rest?

526 children were released to a sponsor (typically a parent or close relative living in U.S.)

95 children’s parents declined reunification

28 children had a parent deemed unfit & ineligible for reunification

28 children were improperly classified as separated

8 children were in the process of reunification

Current Events

“HHS faced challenges in identifying separated children… The effort undertaken by HHS was complex, fast-moving, and resource-intensive. (The IG) report provides a window into the herculean work of the HHS career staff to ‘rapidly identify children in (its) care who had been separated from their parents and reunify them.”

HHS Statement on IG Report

Current Events

In addition to the minors (under 18) separated from their families or guardians at the border, the gov't has another 10,000 who crossed the border alone (commonly referred to as Unaccompanied Alien Children ) in custody awaiting judicial resolution of their immigration status.

“I strongly urge the president to forcefully respond and ensure we do not withdraw our troops until ISIS is completely destroyed.”

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) reacting to the news that at least 4 Americans were killed in a suicide attack in Syria. Until Wednesday, only 2 Americans had died in Syria since the U.S. put troops on the ground in 2015. A debate has emerged about whether or not the U.S. should withdraw the 2,000 troops remaining in Syria one month after the President announced his plans to do so.

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“Twenty-six days into the federal government shutdown, we are bringing some long-term relief to furloughed workers, but we still need to reopen the government immediately. The promise of back pay will not cover the cost of rent or groceries today. It won’t make a car payment or cover prescriptions.”

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) on Wednesday after Pres. Trump signed his bill into law guaranteeing back pay for federal workers impacted by the shutdown.

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“I believe it is my duty to deliver on the British people’s instruction to leave the European Union and I intend to do so.”

UK Prime Minister Theresa May move forward with Brexit negotiations after her narrow victory in Parliament's confidence vote - a day after it rejected a Brexit deal. Britain is set to leave the EU on March 29th with or without a deal governing the main aspects of Britain's departure (trade, travel, and security).

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“If you looked at him and talked to him, you’d say, ‘This guy is destined to change the world. And he did.'”

Joseph Spindler, father of Jason Spindler, a 40-yr-old American killed in a terrorist attack in Kenya. Al-Shabab, an African Islamist terror group linked to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for storming a luxury hotel Tuesday in Nairobi, killing at least 21 people. Spindler joined the Peace Corp after working as a banker and surviving the 9/11 attack in NYC. He led a firm investing in emerging markets.

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“The only thing I terrorize is the rim.”

New York Knicks center and Turkish national Enes Kanter in response to reports that prosecutors in his home country are seeking an arrest warrant and his extradition in connection to allegations he is a member of terror organization and linked to a U.S.-based cleric accused of planning a failed coup in 2016. Kanter is a critic of Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan and had his Turkish passport canceled in 2017.

Quick Quotes

“I didn’t create the concept for Instagram, but once I painted the first object and held [it in my] hand, I immediately recognized Instagram as the vehicle.”

Artist Joshua Vides on the "Til Death Do Us Part" pop-up wedding chapel he created for the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The "Our Marriage Looks Perfect — On Instagram" package costs $250 and includes an hour in the chapel for taking photos. For an extra $250, they'll throw in an hour-long ceremony.

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